We Are Forever
by crazyladybug614
Summary: Bella grows up on the reservation, not in Phoenix. Sarah Black does not die in a car crash. Bella's lived in Forks/La Push her whole life. Does this change anything? No, it changes everything.
1. Chapter 1 In This Together

**Hi! Thank you so much for reviewing and voting! I've chosen from the majority of votes and a few good points on how Jacob is like a brother for Bella in every way in this story. So Paul was the lucky winner everyone!** **Also, I'm working on a few more stories, one about Bella and Jacob, so if you were** **disappointed by the pairing I ended up choosing, you can read that one soon! Thanks again! I love your reviews, so please give me some feedback too. Btw, I know that the Cullens showed up a few years before Bella moved, but in this story she is seventeen like in the first Twilight book.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just my plots. This story is rated T for language and suggestive adult situations.**

 _" She left, Sarah! She left me in this all alone." Charlie Swan explained with rage. No matter the anger he portrayed, he was heartbroken, Sarah Black could tell. She knew that Charlie had loved Renée. Sarah loved Isabella, she loved her like her own daughter." Charlie, you're not alone. We're in this together."_

Sarah Black is my god mother, but she's more like my real mother. I never knew my mom, and Sarah always treated me like I was one of her own daughters. My dad and I loved each other, and we got along fine, but I spent most of my time in the Black house. And while I was at the Black house, Charlie was at the station. He was pronounced chief of police for his hard work and devotion, but I think the real reason he spent so much time there was because he had no idea what to do with me. He was a good person, and I knew that he loved me, but he was out of luck in the parenting department. Seventeen years had gone by and poor Charlie still had no clue what the hell he was doing when it came to me.

I had woken up to the obnoxious beeping noise of my alarm going off. I groaned and rolled out of bed, sleepily stumbling my way into the bathroom. Mondays were the hardest day of the week. " Bells, you up?" I heard Charlie call from downstairs as he gathered his stuff for work. " Yeah." I shouted back before shutting the bathroom door and continuing on with my morning routine. I was out the door at the same time as Charlie almost every morning, which was convenient because then we could at least see each other in passing during the weekdays. Afternoons I spent down on the reservation. I made my way down the stairs and got a bowl of cereal, quick was good for a morning like this. I always seemed to move like a turtle on Mondays. " I heard there's a new family in town, they've got a bunch of kids around your age who will be going to the school. Their dads a doctor too, a really good one. We needed a new doctor around here, or at least one with some more experience." Charlie told me, spiking my interest. " We never get new families around here." I stated rhetorically, and Charlie shrugged his shoulders. " Yeah, I don't really know their story. I just heard the news from around town. You know how quick things spread around here." I chuckled at his very true words, gossip spread like wildfires in a small town. I finished up breakfast and headed out the door, being sure to grab my jacket on the way out. It was always cold in Forks. " I'll be home around dinner." I told Charlie as we both climbed into our separate vehicles. " Alright." he said before we slammed our doors shut, everything was almost in unison.

I arrived at school ten minutes before my first class. The normal group almost immediately made a beeline for me; Jessica, Lauren, Angela, Mike, Tyler and Eric all formed a little circle around me. " Bella, did you hear about the new kids?" someone asked. I almost laughed, of course that was their opening statement. "Yeah. I heard their dads a doctor..." I told them with my left eyebrow quirked up. They seemed a little bit overly interested in the new kids. There must be something to tell. " Well, he's not exactly their dad. They're all adopted. Every single one of them. And that's not even the weirdest part." Jessica pattered on, leaning in with obvious gossiping physique. Anyone not in the group still would have known exactly what we were talking about. " Yeah the weirdest part is that they're all together. Like, together together. It's probably like illegal or something...It's so weird." Lauren blabbed, and everyone in the group looked stunned. "That's so strange. Why would they all be together. They're technically siblings." Angela inquired, " Well, yeah but it's probably because they don't think anyone outside their little family is good enough for them. I got a good look at them this morning. They're all weirdly gorgeous, like to the extreme. And they're super pale, like they've never been exposed to the sun once in their lifetimes." Jessica told us. I felt a shiver run through me as the strangest feeling came onto me, I felt like someone was watching me. And not just watching, staring. I looked up, and caught the eyes of an unfamiliar face. Looking me dead in the eye with no trace of guilt for being caught. He was sheet white with bronze hair and dark eyes. Eyes that almost seemed to be staring into the depths of my soul. I felt a knot in my stomach building up and quickly looked away from his intense gaze. " Is he one of them?" I murmured to Jessica, and she looked around, catching him staring. " Yeah, I think his name was Edward...Why is he looking at you like that?" the group all non-discreatly turned and looked at him. " Yeah Bella, did you like, stab him with a pencil or something?" Tyler asked, laughing at his own humor. " No. I don't even know him." I said. " What a creep." Jessica stated and sauntered off, soon to be followed by the rest of the group. When we went into the building, I passed the boy and still felt eyes on me. I wasn't sure what his whole deal was, but before classes had even begun I was ready to go back down to the reservation.

After what felt like the longest biology class ever; sitting next to Edward Cullen, him glaring at me, me trying not to look, the lunch bell finally rang. I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding and stormed out of the classroom and straight towards my locker. I shoved my stuff away and almost sprinted into the lunch room. I had felt extremely uncomfortable in such close proximity to him. After I grabbed my lunch tray I hurried to sit down at the usual table. "Gosh Bella, you look like you just chugged a bunch of energy drinks." Tyler commented. " Or just sat through an entire class next to a complete stranger who was staring at you like you killed his best friend." I told him with a slight laugh. " He's so creepy." Angela stated. I definitely agreed. What had she done to make him hate her so much? She hardly even looked at him. " All of them are." Jessica said, and I turned to glance over in the direction she was looking. The whole family sat at a circular table, not eating anything, and barely talking. There were five of them, and all of them were completely gorgeous, not a single blemish lay on their pale faces. They almost looked like statues, and were completely unnatural.

The last bell rang and I strode out to the parking lot, hopping in my truck and driving away as quickly as I could. I hoped that eventually I would get used to the Cullens, with all of their anti social gloom and menacing stares. That maybe after a week or so it would become more routine and normal. If not I wasn't sure how I would be able to handle them. I drove down to the reservation, knowing that Sarah, Billy, and Jacob would be there waiting. They always were. I loved them all so dearly. Jacob was like a brother to me, we had grown up together, playing in the mud or on the beach basically our whole lives. I had spent the night at their house so many times as a kid, and eventually when the twins went to college Sarah made the room they had shared into my own. She had always thought of me as her daughter, and I had always thought of her as my mother. Even though I never called her mom, it went unsaid that she was.

As soon as I showed up at the Black house I was greeted by Billy walking out the door with a smile on his face. " Hey, Bella. Sarah just headed off to the store, she's making something good tonight, I think." he said. I chuckled, " She always makes something good, doesn't she?" he smiled even wider. "Yep." he stated before we both strolled inside. " Can you stay for dinner tonight, Bella?" he asked, " no, I told Charlie I'd be home around that time to make him some food tonight. Maybe we'll all get together later this week though." I told him." Is Jake here?" I asked as he folded himself into his armchair and went back to whatever game he was watching. " Yeah, he is. I don't know where though. He might be in the garage." I rolled my eyes with a smile, " of course he's in the garage." I told him before I went out the back door and into the garage. Sure enough, Jacob was in there working on the rabbit from underneath. It was his favorite thing to do lately, and he was at it all the time. Billy told him that as soon as he fixed the rabbit he could get a drivers license. " Hey Jacob." I said as I shuffled inside, " Heee...Ahhhhh!" I heard, and laughed. Jacob had smacked his head against the bottom of the rabbit. He rolled out from underneath, ( he was on his old skateboard) and rubbed his head. " Hey." he said, trying to act nonchalant and unfazed. I laughed again, and he just rolled his eyes. We immediately were back to being 'Jake and Bells'. Soon enough we heard a car pull into the driveway, and we went into the house. " Hey, honey. I was wondering where you were. I saw your truck outside." Sarah said as she scooped me up into a big warm hug. The Black's were the best huggers, especially Sarah. You could feel all of the love emitting off of her when she pulled you into her warm arms. I usually didn't ever feel like letting go. She pulled back and smiled at me brightly, lighting up her face with that glow of happiness that seemed to be omnipresent. I smiled back and helped her put away the groceries. I brought up the Cullens as we put away the food, and a strange look appeared on Sarah's face. She turned and gave Billy a not- so -subtle glance before sighing and turning towards me. " What did you hear about them?" she questioned with an indescribable look on her face. " Not much, just that they're all adopted, and that their dad's a doctor. And, I heard that they're all dating each other...If that's of any importance." I told her. " You should stay away from them, Bella. They're not any good." Billy told me sternly, and Jacob chuckled. " Okay, dad, let's not scare Bella away. We kind of like her, remember?" Jacob said, getting up off of the couch and heading for the gave me a smile and I patted his shoulder as I followed Jacob. We walked out the door and sat down in the garage. " What was all that stuff about the Cullens?" I asked him. He just rolled his eyes and sighed. " You know about all of the legends and stuff. Dad seems to strongly think that the Cullens are cold ones." He told her with a sarcastic smile. I raised an eyebrow, " cold ones as in vampires? Are you serious?" he chuckled, " dead serious, he's positive that they are. Which doesn't even make sense since he's never actually met him. He's just heard about them through Sam Uley." Jacob told me. Of course Billy was getting his bullshit off of Sam Uley. Sam Uley was a mystery gone unsolved according to Jacob, but I just thought he was a basic asshole. He had been dating Leah Clearwater, when one day he starts acting all funky and then a few weeks later goes off with her cousin ( whom he's engaged to now). And ever since he's been lurking around the reservation half clothed telling everyone to 'beware of the cold ones' or some shit. " And the weirdest part is that Sam's been lurking all around now, always watching me and some of my friends. Dad doesn't seem to care at all either, nobody does. They just let him basically stalk us." Jacob said, and I was angry by then. " Good lord. He shouldn't be allowed to do that." I told Jacob, and he nodded. " No, he shouldn't. It all feels super weird too, he's always watching."

I headed home at around dinner time like I had told Charlie I would. He was home when I got there, watching the same game that Billy had been. " You should really go over to the Black's and watch with Billy more often, he was watching the same thing earlier." I told him as I put my stuff away and started dinner. " I just got home, actually. Otherwise I would've come over." he told me. " So, how was school today? Did you get to meet those new kids?" he asked. I sighed, this was the one question I didn't really want to answer. " I saw them, but they sort of just kept to themselves. They were a little bit creepy. Plus, Billy and Sarah told me that I should probably stay away from them." he frowned, " why would they tell you that?" I bit my lip, " it's about the legends." I could feel him rolling his eyes from behind me. " Just because some new folks who happen to be extra white come into town doesn't mean he can go telling everyone they're some mystical creatures. Vampires my ass." he mumbled. This was the one thing that Billy and Charlie could never agree on. Charlie wasn't very religious, and Billy believed the legends through his heart and soul. " So, did you get to meet the new doctor?" I asked him, " No not yet, but I heard from around town that he's very nice. Not just a gentleman but a gentle man too. At least that's what I heard. I wonder why his kids would be creepy if their dad is so kind." he told me. I wondered about this too, how can he be very nice and have children that could probably kill a bug with just one look? " They're all adopted, so maybe that's one reason." I told him, " really? All of them?" I finished up dinner, dishing it onto the plates, " yeah. And they're all dating each other. It's pretty strange." He sat down at the table and rubbed his mustache with a frown. " Isn't that illegal?" I asked him, " Well, since legally they're siblings, they can't marry each other, but since they aren't technically siblings they can do whatever else they want. If they technically weren't, they would have to go to jail for ten years and pay a $20,000 dollar fine if they had...well...intercourse. That's in Washington, though, in other places it's less or more." he told me in his cop voice which he used whenever I asked him about laws and things like that. Anything technical I asked sent a spark into his eye and he would start talking more than he had in a while. " oh." I said, and sat down, setting our plates out. " It's still pretty weird." I commented, and he nodded, " Yep, it is." he said with a mouthful of food.

I finished my homework and went to bed early that night, but I didn't get much sleep. I felt like someone was watching me all night long, and it unsettled me enough that I couldn't sleep at all. I would turn on the light and look around, but nothing was there.

 **Dun dun dun... kind of a** **cliff hanger, kind of not. Hope you all liked the first chapter, even though it's super short. This one was just so that you could get a look into the life of Bella, but pretty soon here there's going to be more interesting stuff happening. :)**


	2. Light In The Fog

**Hey everyone, now for a second chapter! By the way I'm getting all of my chapter names from Spotify's Deep Focus playlist, so if you recognize the names that's where they come from. I made it that way because it's the playlist I listen to when I'm writing. :) This chapter begins in an Edward Pov, and then moves to Bella. Let me know what you think of the story so far!**

Chapter 2- Light In The Fog

I have never thought of a human in such a way that I have thought of Bella. They have all been careless, hardly important creatures in my mind, until I saw her.

She pulled up to the school in a huge red truck, and as soon as she had gotten out tons of people crowded around her. She was beautiful, her long brown hair

swaying just above her hips, dark chocolate brown eyes. As soon as I saw her I wanted to know more, but the most mysterious part of her came upon me as I

tried to read her mind. I had never been unable to read anyone's mind before hers. I tried desperately, but it was an impossible task. Just a few of her thoughts

would have sufficed, I could have found an insight into her life, but nothing. Many minds buzzed around me, and the only one I wanted to hear was hers. And

hers was the only mind I could not read. She was perfect in a surprising way for a human. Her every breath seemed to be sucking me in. I could not seem to

find a way to take my eyes off of her. She was like a light in the fog, the red in a field of gray. I watched her as she walked by me, and I sucked in a quick

breath as I took in her scent. It was amazing, unbearable almost. Completely and utterly mouthwatering. I had to get away, but I could not. I could not take my

eyes off of her, let alone _leave._ So I remained my distance, but continued to look upon her. I suppose I might have frightened her, when we shared a table in

biology she scooted as far away from me as the desk would let her. And when the bell rang, she bolted out the door as fast as she could. I could tell that all day

she was trying not to look at me, but failed with no luck. I could not see inside of her mind, but there were others ways that I could know what went on in there.

I followed her after school, but she drove past the boarder line onto the reservation. So I went home, but with high hopes that the girl did not live down there. "

Edward what is going on with you?" Alice had questioned me critically after noticing my interest in the girl. " I cannot read her mind, it interests me in such a

way where I cannot resist. Surely you understand, Alice. I can see that you are unable to see her future." I told her, " I could see little snip-bits earlier, like her

next class or what she would say. And then everything would go blank, then come back. It's like there's something she's thinking of that I cannot see past. Now

I can't see anything at all." she had said, with a fearful sound in her voice. In all of our long lives we had never lived to see a creature like Bella, one that we

could not see the details of. It fascinated the both of us, but me especially. Alice had already chosen a mate, I had not. Bella might have been my mate for life,

and only time would tell. I found out later that evening from Carlisle that Bella's father was chief of police, Charlie Swan. I then looked him up and found their

address, and waited there for her to return. She came home around seven, and I watched her, waiting for her to eventually go to sleep before I snuck in through

her window. She tossed and turned, and never slept. She seemed to know of my being there. I was please by the knowledge that she could sense my presence,

it enraptured me somehow. After I confessed to Carlisle of my feelings for the human girl, he told me that I should take some what of a leave. Go off for a few

days on a hunting spree, and as soon as I was fully fed I could come back. He had thought it would be safer for her, since I was so attracted to the scent of her

blood. I agreed with him and left after one more day of school. I hadn't truly wanted to go, all I wanted to do was stay and watch her, but I knew it was for the

best. She was of course, the light in the fog, so I had to make sure that she stayed alive.

Bella Pov:

I eventually gave up on trying to fall asleep and lay in bed until my alarm went off. I shuffled out of bed and got ready for school, following my same morning

routine, shower, blow dry, get dressed, light makeup, breakfast, then say goodbye to Charlie. The day had gone almost exactly as the one before, Edward was

always watching. Some of the other girls had taken a liking to him, noticing his beautiful body that looked like it had been sculpted in Rome by one of the most

amazing not me, looking at him sent feelings of fear through me, not any sort of arousal. I kept telling myself it was silly to fear him, that he was just

an average teenage boy. But nothing about him seemed average, nothing at all. Not any of them were normal in any way, not one Cullen. They didn't eat, they

hardly spoke, they were flawless and white as ghosts, and they always were watching, watching everyone. I planned to confront them, or at least Edward. To

just walk up to him and tell him to back the hell off of me, but he never showed. The rest of them stayed in school, but he was gone for the rest of the week. I

slept better those nights, and felt better at school. His absence was some sort of relief for me. No matter how terrible that sounded, I enjoyed him being gone.

I had expected my weekend to be the same as always. I would go down to the reservation with Charlie and go to the beach while he fished with Harry and Billy.

Harry and Sue were gone on some romantic getaway over the weekend, so Leah and Seth were staying over at the Black's. I saw Leah often, but we hardly

spoke. After Sam had hurt her, she basically turned into a scary and tough bitch. I could see that it was just a shield that she had put up to guard her true

feelings, but I tried not to push anything out of her. If how she handled what she went through was by turning tough, then so be it. Jacob was sick with a fever,

and mostly stayed in his room the whole weekend. Seth slept on the couch with no complaints, and Leah stayed in the twins' old room with me while Billy and

Charlie went off on yet another fishing adventure. It was a full house, and it made me feel safe, not only being on the reservation but being surrounded by

people. And acutely tough people at that. Even Sarah Black who was loving at heart, was also tough as nails. I rarely ever felt insecure, I knew that I was

beautiful, and I was asked out often, but hardly ever said yes. I had gone out with Mike Newton one time, on the one and only time that I obliged to his

practically constant form of begging. It hadn't gone well, at least in my mind, but afterwards he followed me around thinking that I was somewhat of his

property. I've tried to make it obvious that I'm not interested, but he somehow has it stuck in his thick scull that we're dating, even though we went out on one

date in the very beginning of the year, and never another one. There was of course the rare times that I ever felt as though I wasn't completely strong enough,

and those times were when Edward was near, and at night when I felt as though I was being watched. Other than those moments, I had liked to think of myself

as somewhat of a tough person. But tough I was not when in comparison to Leah Clearwater. Especially with her spontaneous mood swings that shocked me

often. Needless to say, the weekend was something I thought for sure would be a disaster. But somehow, when we had watched a movie and a romantic scene

came on, when I saw Leah die a little inside, when I asked her if she was okay, she let her walls down. Apparently, I was more perceptive than anyone else had

been, and she found herself telling me more than she had told anyone. And as scared of her as I was, a friendship between us formed.

The weekend was over quicker than expected, and Monday soon turned into my worst nightmare. " Hey Bella, the disappearing new kid _has returned_." Eric

jokingly told me in a sarcastically spooky voice as I got out of my truck which was parked next to his. " What are you talking about?" I asked him, he just turned

around and pointed his finger to a spot across the parking lot. There stood Edward Cullen, casually leaning against his silver Volvo, _watching._

I made my way through classes, eventually making it into Biology with a pounding heart. I sat down at the desk, hardly looking at him. When I did manage

to sneak a glance, though, I noticed his eyes were now a bright topaz color. _That's weird, weren't they black before?_ I thought to myself as I pulled my books

out and set them on the desk. " You're Bella Swan, correct?" A smooth as honey voice spoke to me. I jolted a little in shock that the boy had spoken. " Yes, yeah

I am." I told him, trying to calm myself down. He smiled brightly, sharp teeth gleaming. I flinched, I had known that it was supposed to be a charming smile,

but it had sent a wave of fear rushing through me. " You were gone." I stated, he nodded, " Yes, I was. I had some...personal things to take care of." he told me

with hesitation clear in his voice. " Oh." I said, not really sure how to respond to him. The teacher started class, and Edward continued to make some sort of

small talk with me. Just last week he looked like he wanted to kill me, now he's acting like he wants to be best friends. When class ended he walked with me out

the door, and to lunch. The group at my usual lunch table looked up, but didn't say a word. I made a move to sit down with them, but he asked me if I would sit

with his family that day. I agreed, trying to be polite, no matter how unnerving the thought of eating my lunch with them was. I sat carefully at the table with

the rest of the Cullens. Edward introduced me to each member of his family; Jasper, who was seemingly in deep thought throughout the lunch, Rosalie, who was

frigidly unwelcoming, Alice, who was pixy like and almost annoying, and Emmett, who was even more gigantic in person. It was still substantially unclear to me

of why, exactly, I was sitting with them, but I tried not to look too uncomfortable. I could feel eyes on me, and knew that the entire student body was probably

watching. " So, Bella, how long have you lived in Forks?" Alice asked me in a friendly tone, smiling brightly. " I was born here, actually." I told her, " So your

whole family lives here?" she asked, and I wasn't sure how to answer that question. It was tough to answer questions about my family, because Charlie didn't

keep in contact with his, and I didn't know my mom at all. I of course considered the Blacks my family, but in a strangers eyes, family they were not, no matter

how close we were. " My dad and I do. We don't really keep in contact with anyone else." I told them, hoping that perhaps they would drop the subject. It was

quite odd for strangers to want to know every detail of your life, and I had given many little details to Edward during our biology class, answering as many

questions he threw at me as possible. " Oh." Alice said, pulling her small eyebrows together as if trying to figure me out.

The rest of the lunch was spent with them asking me questions, and occasionally me getting the chance to ask one back. They seemed to have difficulty

answering things about themselves. Like there was this giant secret that their lives revolved around, and they had to find some way to answer things without

giving it away. But it wasn't like they were actually cold ones or anything, right?

 **Yet another short intro chapter, sorry. I had to do these little filler chapters so that you could get an idea of the characters and everything before any action started. Please remember to review right after reading this!**


	3. Hurts like hell

**I'm sorry it's been so long, writers block is real everyone. Sorry if this chapter isn't the best, let me know what you think. I'd like to hear some of your ideas about future chapters and where this story should go. Please Review!**

Chapter Three- Thunder Rising

I sat in my truck, parked on the side of the rode, tapping my fingers restlessly against the wheel. Rain trickled down my windshield, the sky a gloomy, dull gray

color. Everything seemed so dreary. You never truly realize how easy it is to get hurt until you lose someone. Jacob had surrendered, relinquished. He had joined

Sam's cult. One moment he's going on about how strange Sam is, how he'd never hang out with him, the next he's following him around like a little puppy. His

hair was cropped short, a tattoo presented itself on his left shoulder. He had been harsh and unwelcoming, telling me that with whom he was friends was none

of my business. At the time I had felt tears pricking my eyes, but held them back with force. The tears no longer threatened to spill as a fierce rage built up

inside of myself. The only thing that I could do was go to Sam's house, give him a piece of my mind, and hope to god that Jacob isn't there. I started my engine

once again, driving off to the local store, owned by Old Quil Ateara. I opened the door, which jingled from the little golden bell tied at the top. Old Quil sat in his

usual spot behind the counter, glancing up at me with a smile. " Bella, how can I help you today? Did Sarah need you to grab something for her?" he asked,

knowing my usual mission to the small store. " No, actually, sir. I need a favor from you." I told him, earning a quizzical look from the old man. " You have Sam

Uley's address, don't you?" I asked, approaching the counter. " Indeed, I do. And from what I assume, you do not?" I nodded. He pulled out a pad of paper and

a pen, "a pretty young thing like you should be careful around the warriors. Quite an intimidating bunch." he mumbled as he wrote down the address. _The_

 _warriors._ What had that meant? Warriors against what? Rules? Basic human instinct and ways of acting? That seemed about right. He handed me the paper with

a sigh, shaking his head. " Be careful.." he warned, " thanks." I said, quickly making my way out of the door. I wasn't sure why the " warriors" would be

dangerous enough for a man I hardly knew to worry about me seeing them. I decided to, recklessly, go against my gut and face Sam Uley.

I took a deep breath, steadily, cautiously walking up the small steps towards Sam Uley's door. I was drenched head to toe from the constant pouring rain, the

water from my body dripping onto the porch. I took another deep breath; in and out, then finally reached up to knock on the door. I could hear voices coming

from inside, there wasn't very many, however. Maybe only one or two; I had expected his whole gang to be with him, Jacob included. _Jacob._ Anger flashed

through me, and I pounded on the door. After about thirty seconds of restless pounding, the door was almost ripped off it's hinges. " What the hell..." a rough,

husky voice spoke with anger. Stood before me was, presumably, a member of Sam's gang. The signs were obvious; shirtless, tribal tattoo,...impeccable

gorgeousness. Yes, this man was definitely one of Sam's. I looked up to meet his eyes; it was a surprisingly long way. These days I didn't meet a whole lot of

people who were much taller than I was, given I was 5 feet nine inches tall. But this man must have been over six foot five. Once my gaze finally met his own I

felt a spark run through my body. It was that tingly feeling you get in your early teen years when you see a cute guy on tv and you simply feel like giggling with

joy. His eyes were dark brown, almost black. They seemed to peer right into your soul, but not in a creepy Edward Cullen way, in a very sexy, very mysterious

way. He gasped and took a step backwards, bringing me back into reality. I almost rolled my eyes at myself, coming over here to tell of Sam Uley, and instead

checking out one of his watch dogs. _Idiot._ I internally muttered to myself, before narrowing my eyes at the man before me. I wasn't sure how long we had been

standing there, it could have been mere seconds, or hours, I couldn't tell. " Where's Sam?" I asked him, never taking my eyes away from his own. He blinked

and licked his lips slowly. Before turning around slightly to glance into the kitchen, " you have a visitor." he said, before quickly bringing his eyes back to me. I

heard the scraping of a chair against the ground and soft footsteps approaching the doorway. Sam appeared behind the man, but he never tore his eyes off of

me. Sam placed his hand on the shoulder of the man, muttering something so quiet that only the man himself could have heard, even with me standing so close

to him. _When did I get this close to him?_ I thought to myself as I realized that I was, as of now, barely an inch away from him. " Paul?" Sam asked, glancing

between us. Realization seemed to flood itself across Sam's face quickly, and he simply sighed, shook his head, and turned around to go back inside the house.

Confusion was evident in my emotions, but I could hardly seem to feel anything but pure need. A need to do what, I didn't really know. It felt like a longing, like

something pulling me towards this man I didn't know, Paul...He said nothing, he simply just watched, and I waited. I waited for Sam to come back, or Jacob, or

anyone really. I tried not to shrink under his gaze, or to flinch in any way. Some part of me, the instinctual part, knew that he would enjoy making me his prey.

And the worst part, somewhere deep down, I knew that I would have enjoyed it too.

" Bella, I think you should go home. If you come back another time, I'm sure it will be...clearer. For all of us. There's some things I need to...discuss

with others before I can speak with you on this matter." he told me, cautiously and seriously. " Sam, I don't know what you've been giving them but I don't want

Jacob to be any part of this. He doesn't deserve to grow up in a gang or cult or...whatever the hell you call yourselves. I came here simply to tell you to stay

away from Jacob, I'm not looking to get a membership card Uley. I don't need to come back, because I think I've made my point pretty clear. I'm sure you

wouldn't want me involving my dad in this, correct? Officers of the law will not be as kind as I was when it comes to teen drug use." I told him harshly. His

watch dog was still on the porch, observing everything. " Bella, I can assure you that we are not in any way involved in drugs. What's going on here is

something that is hard to explain, but as far as I've seen, you will be needing to know about it," Sam spoke softly now, glancing back towards Paul as he said

the last line. " I didn't force Jacob into anything, it was genetics, fate, whatever you want to call it. We aren't a cult or a gang, we're protecting the tribe. Listen,

Bella, I can explain all of this to you another time, I'm almost positive I can." He told me, glancing back towards Paul once again. Paul stood stiff, his eyes

narrowed at Sam. She noticed how tense he had gotten, his clenched fists at his side, his flared nostrils and glaring eyes. She wasn't sure how any of this

involved him, but she knew that it most likely revolved around him in a way that she couldn't understand. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath, " Okay.

I'll come back." I said, my eyes still firmly locked on Paul. Sam nodded and sighed, " I know an imprint when I see one." he mumbled as he walked back up the

steps of the porch.

 **Sorry for such a short chapter, it's kind of just a filler chapter before we get into the fun stuff. Don't forget to review!**


	4. Overture

**Hi guys, sorry it's been so long. I was on over a month trip to South America with no electricity. I did, however, bring a journal with me, thus, new chapter. I think I have arthritis now. I love your reviews and comments, please post more!**

 ** _Chapter 4: Overture_**

 _Overture; an introduction into something more substantial, a beginning._

I can't sleep at night. It's been days since my visit with Sam, and I've been on edge ever since. Sometimes it feels like there's something that I was

supposed to do and I forgot, but mostly, it feels like I just chugged five energy drinks in five minutes. I don't know if it's because I had gone insanely crazy, or

because of what Sam had said. It was probably what Sam had said. I was always shaking, always feeling random feelings, feelings that seemed as though they

weren't even my own, it was like they were coming from someone else.

* * *

 _Knock. Click. Knock. Smack. Tap. Tap._ I suddenly jolted in bed, my heart was pounding as I reached for the light switch. Turning it on, I looked to the window,

trying to spot my intruder. " Jacob?!" I whisper yelled as I jumped out of bed, leaping over to open the window. He climbed in, breathing heavily. " What are you

doing here?" I whispered as he slid a hand through his hair, damp with rain. " Sam told me that you stopped by...he said that I should be the one to tell you." he

said softly. I shivered and went to close the window, " no, don't." Jacob said, reaching out and placing a hand on my shoulder. A growl ripped through the forest

and he immediately drew his hand back with a gasp. I looked at him with confusion, " It's just...umm...I can't stay for very long." he stuttered. I narrowed my

eyes, knowing Jacob as well as I did, he was most definitely lying. " What did Sam want you to tell me?" I asked, changing the subject which was obviously

quite uncomfortable for him. He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, briefly closing his eyes in agony. " You remember the legends, right Bella?" he asked, his

voice was quiet and shaky. I wasn't sure what he was afraid of, but it killed me to see him that way. " Of course I do." I told him, sitting in the desk chair across

from him. " I'm specifically aiming towards the ones about the wolves. How we descended from wolves, the stories of the warriors..." I nodded slowly, still

unsure of what he was trying to tell me. He stopped for a moment and just looked at me, it was as if he was trying to see whether I understood or not. I

thought for a moment about what he was saying, about what Sam had said. _The tribal warriors are descended from wolves, they have protected our tribe for_

 _many generations. They fight against the cold ones._ I sucked in a breath as the realization hit me of what Jacob was trying to say. " the legends are true aren't

they?" I whispered. He nodded.

* * *

" Jacob that's crazy, how do you deal with all of that?" He seemed to be in deep thought, he always furrowed his eyebrows and stuck out his lower lip when he

was thinking to hard. Sarah called it " the thinky face". He cleared his throat awkwardly, " there's things...that help. The spirits um sort of uh...assign I guess a

person to some of the pack. The members who have it rough, or need more control, they are given something called an imprint. The imprints are, according to

the legends, gifted females who balance the wolf from the man. The wolves and imprints are soulfully bound together, soulmates, as some people call them. The

reason that you haven't hear of them are because they were supposed to be rare, but in our pack theres already three of the guys who have imprints. Sam, he's

the alpha, but he's not the chosen alpha, which makes it much harder for him, so he has an imprint. Jared wasn't really meant for the pack nature, he...he's

more human really, so he needed someone to help him deal with it. Paul's the opposite, he's more wolf than human. He needs the balance more than anyone..."

knowing that Paul, the one I had met earlier had an imprint surprised me, he seemed like the kind of person who wasn't " soulfully bound" to a singular girl. I'm

really not good at explaining this stuff since I'm new and all..." he sighed. " No, Jake you're making sense...it's just...how do the imprints balance the wolves?

How are they gifted?" I asked. He shrugged, " I...it's hard to explain if you personally don't have an imprint or aren't an imprint. You should talk to Sam and

Emily...Emily's his imprint...Or if you prefer you could talk to Jared...I mean...I know that you aren't really the biggest fan of Sam." He said, " that was before I

knew that it wasn't his fault that this happened to you. Plus, I used to think that _this_ was drugs." I told him. He cocked an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes, he always

knew when I wasn't telling the full truth, " okay...maybe I'm still not his number one fan but that's really only because he's conflicting and confusing and it kind

of gives you whiplash... I mean one minute he's telling you to stay away from me and the next he's sending you off to explain everything to me." My statement

wasn't really a question, even if it was a question it would be a rhetorical one. I processed his words, Sam's words, and my own for a minute. Everything was

slowly piecing itself together. I grabbed Jacob's hand, testing my inquiries. He opened his mouth to protest but I held up a finger to silence him. As I had

suspected, a growl rippled outside the window. Jacob snatched his hand away as if I had burnt him. " And what...is that?" I asked, nodding my head towards the

window. He narrowed his eyes, " I...you...I don't really think I'm supposed to...Can you hold on a second?" he moved towards the window, and began to climb

out. " Wait, where are you going?" he had already jumped down. I ran over to the window, where at the base he was standing nonchalantly and smirking up at

me, " to consult with my authorizers." he sarcastically remarked before running off. I watched him as he sauntered off into the woods gracefully, surprised by his

effortless elegance. Jacob had always been a sweet, clumsy, goofy kid with the brightest smile. I hated that he had to be forced into this by gene, but I could

sense that the old Jacob was still in there. Jacob came back a few minutes later. He looked...nervous almost. " Are you alright?" I had asked. " Yeah. I just

came back to say goodbye, and to invite you to the bonfire tomorrow night. I can pick you up here..." he told me. I narrowed my eyes, but let it go. " yeah,

sure. I'll see you tomorrow Jacob." he sighed, nodded once and jumped back out the window. I took a deep breath. _Okay. Jacob's a werewolf now. Huh._

* * *

School the next day was like an endless ticking clock. Like watching paint dry. Effortlessly boring. The only excitement of the day was the Cullen families usual

creepiness. They acted normal, if not simply rude to everyone else. But to me, they were friendly. Too friendly to really be friends. Especially Edward. " Bella,

Bella hello..." Jessica's voice popped up into my random collage of thoughts. " Huh? Sorry...I zoned out for a moment there." I chuckled to myself. She smiled,

"obviously. Well, anyways, I was asking you if you were going to that bonfire on the reservation tonight. It's a big party...plus, creepy Cullen can't come. Some

girl with like, no sense of self preservation at all asked Edward if he wanted to go...she was turned down with quite the death stare I might add. Which wasn't

even the weirdest part, he just said, " I am unable to attend your gathering", like, who the hell even says that? What is he, ninety? Anyways, are you going? I

mean, I was kind of guessing that you would be since, well, duh. You basically live right on First Beach. But, Angela said something about you and Jacob being

on the outs, so..." she babbled along, it was hard to keep track of everything she said most of the time. " Right, yeah, Jacob and I got over it. It was a

momentary sibling-ish thing. But, yeah I'm going." I stated. She smiled brightly, " awesome. I heard that the guys on the reservation have seriously filled out

these past few months. I mean, including Jacob but that's like no woman's land since he's basically you're brother and all." I almost rolled my eyes. " Jacob

would kill me if he knew that all the girls were staying away because he's my sort of brother. I think he would put it into the term " cock blocking". Which is

 _highly_ discriminated against by the way. I mean, the only person I would actually try to keep away from Jacob is Lauren." we both laughed. " Well, no need to

worry about that. She's interested in someone else apparently, someone named Paul I think. You know him?" I almost rolled my eyes. Of course Lauren was

interested in the most dangerous werewolf in the pack. " Yeah/ You should warn her though, he's taken _bad boy_ to a

whole new level." She gave me the _explain_ look. " Don't ask." she sighed. Jessica hated not knowing something. She hated not knowing everything, to be

honest. " speak of the devil." Jessica whispered as an overly peppy Lauren sauntered over to where we were sitting. Apparently she had a free period as well.

Great. " Ladies." she acknowledged. " Lauren." we simultaneously responded. She shot us a glare, but sat down across from us. " Are you going to the bonfire

tonight?" She asked. " I didn't realize you were invited." Jessica bitterly remarked. " First of all, there was not invites, it was just sort of a come as you want

thing. Second, of course I would have been invited, had there been invites." She stated before sassily walking away. I rolled my eyes and we both chuckled. She

was such a stereotypical mean girl that it was almost pathetic. " Anyways...I believe there was bad boy you were elaborating on." she grinned. The bell rung

then, and I grinned right back. " Saved by the bell. See you tonight." she glared. My phone rang as I was getting in the truck, " Hello?" I answered. " Bella, it's

Emily, Sam's...girlfriend. I was hoping to speak with you before the bonfire tonight. I know that Jacob told you everything, but there's a little bit more that you

should know. Jacob wasn't exactly...fit for the job of telling you. Do you think we could meet at your house? Sarah gave me your information."

"Right, yeah sure. You can come by whenever. My dad won't be home until tomorrow." I could almost hear her grin through the phone. Of course the big bad

alpha had the sweetest person as a mate. " Great. I'll see you soon then."

" Did Jacob tell you about imprinting Bella?" Emily asked as I sat down across from her at the kitchen table. " He told me a little bit...I guess. It didn't

really make sense to be honest." I truthfully told her. " Well, it didn't make any sense to me when Sam first explained it either. Imprints...they serve many

purposes. They balance the wolf from the man, they're, at least from what I've witnessed, great strategists, and...well they carry on the gene. An imprint is

chosen by the spirits as a sole mate of some sort to the wolf. They may choose whether they want the wolf to be a brother, a friend, or a lover. Or nothing, they

may also reject the imprint, which is unheard of. The wolf and the girl are perfect for each other in every way, rejecting your _soulmate,_ as ridiculous as it

sounds, is a shameful thing to do. The girl may never be in love with another, and the wolf will never be able to even look at another girl in _that_ way again. It's a

vicious cycle, because you get to choose what you want them to be, but you can't ever be with anyone else." She told me. I was curious about what, exactly this

had to do with me. She seemed to read that one my face. " The reason that I am telling you all of this is because...well. You've been imprinted on. By Paul," she

sighed. I sucked in a breath of air. What? " He doesn't..talk about it. I think that he feels he isn't worthy of you. Paul had it rough growing up, Bella. He's never

been loved, truly loved before. Not even by his own mother. He fears that he isn't capable of being loved, or loving. He needs you. He'd never admit it, but he

needs you." I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't even know him. " I know that you don't know him, but can you try to talk to him? I know that it's a lot to ask,

and you still have a choice, but I worry about Paul. He needs the balance more than any of the boys." she looked at me with hopeful eyes. " I..it's a lot to take

in Emily. I just learned last night about the wolves and now I learn that I'm spiritually belonging to one of them. One that I don't even know, and from what I've

heard of him, he's someone that I don't want to know." she gave me a sympathetic look, but I could see the sadness behind her eyes. " What have you heard?"

she asked quietly. " That he's dangerous." I told her. " He would never **ever** hurt _you_ Bella. He couldn't. Just...talk to him please. Don't mention the imprint,

just be subtle about it. He doesn't need to know that you know already."

The bonfire was one of the biggest of the year. There was tons of people there, yet not a single adult in sight. That told me exactly what type of party this

was. " Bella, hey." Jessica said, who was sitting on a log. Next to her were Angela, Ben and Mike. " Hey." I said. I was scanning the crowd for other familiar

faces. I almost screamed as I felt myself being scooped into a pair of giant arms, before I realized whose giant arms they were. Jacob was giving me his

signature hug. He set me down all too quickly though, and backed away a few feet. I narrowed my eyes, trying to find where his gaze was aiming towards. Paul

sat on a drift wood branch, up against a giant tree. He had a firm look on his face, and she didn't miss his arms balled into fists at his side. He met her eyes and

she looked away quickly. " He knows you're not a threat, right?" I asked Jacob. He shrugged, " I think in his eyes any man other than himself is a threat towards

his mate." He jokingly responded. Paul glared at him still, though he hadn't been listening. Jacob held his hands up in a surrender position and backed away

from me with a goofy grin. " I'll see you later Bells." he told me. I smiled and sat down my Jessica. " what was that about?" She asked. I rolled my eyes with a

smile, " his friend is...territorial over me." I told her. " What, did he call dibs or something like that?" she asked. I looked over at Paul, who was looking me over

with an unspoken claim. " Something like that." I responded. " Which friend?" she asked. I looked her in the eye. " Paul." She drew her eyebrows together. And

gawked at me. " Well, you should probably tell Lauren that." She told me. I looked over to where she was looking, and saw Lauren heading strait towards Paul. I

was curious to see what he would do. She flirted with him, and he ignored her. She didn't really seem to care though. She was quite confident in herself that he

would eventually give in. He didn't. Instead, he watched me. He never tore his eyes away. And the strangest part, neither did I.


	5. Pretending

**_Chapter 5: Pretending_**

 _We can't always be what others wish us to, but we can pretend._

" Okay, Jess, let's get out of here." I nagged as I pulled on her arm. " But I'm not even drunk." came her slurred response. " Yes, you are." I gave her the look.

She shrugged with a sloppy grin. I rolled my eyes with a laugh. She started to fall over " Oh my god." I exclaimed as I attempted to catch her fall, Mike,

thankfully pitched in. He smiled at me as he steadied her, " I'll bring her home, she gave me a ride down here anyways." Mike said. " Thanks. I would have had

to ride with my dad to come get my truck, which would have been followed by many questions in his ' chief tone'. " He chuckled, " no problem." he carried her

off, ignoring her protests. I turned around to face the still raging bonfire. I was immediately met by Paul's eyes. I took a deep breath and attempted to look

away. I failed. I sighed, before promptly making the decision to just walk away. Walk away, and if he followed...well I wasn't sure what I would do if he followed,

but I was almost positive that he would. I briefly closed my eyes and walked off to a private little section on the shore line. I sat down on a large boulder, closing

my eyes as I listened to the waves. I had never felt anything as intense as Paul's gaze, or the things I felt as I returned it. It was almost too much to handle,

but yet, it was somehow still comforting. It still felt good, no matter how intense it was. I heard someone approaching, and I knew it was him as soon as he got

close enough that I could _feel_ him. I opened my eyes to watch him. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as he sat next to me on the rock. " You

imprinted on me." I stated, it wasn't in question. " Yes." he responded. He was silent for several moments, " I'm sorry." he said. " I'm not." he looked at me,

surprised. " I'm not sorry, Paul, not for something that's good for the both of us. Not for something that feels right."

* * *

The rest of the weekend went by, the stabbing pain in my chest never disappearing. Monday morning I woke up to the obnoxious buzz of my alarm clock. I

groaned and rolled out of bed. My phone rang as I got into my truck. It was Jacob. " Hey Jake, what's up?" I answered, ignoring the nagging urge to question

him on how Paul was. " I...have to ask you a really awful favor. The Cullens, well...I mean you know how I told you earlier that they're cold ones...and well, Sam

wants to keep an eye on them, and seeing as you're the only person in the pack who's around them often..." I knew what he was trying to get at, they wanted

me to spy on the Cullens for them. " Right, yeah. It's just... Won't they like, kill me or something?" I asked him, trying to sound humorous, but I knew he could

hear the fear in my voice. " the pack will be nearby, plus, they insist they only feed on animal blood, not human." he assured, I still felt a knot in my stomach.

"Does Paul know?" I asked, I could hear him sigh through the phone, " no." he responded. Of course not. Some part of me knew that Paul would have said

something along the lines of " over my dead body." No matter how well he knew me, the imprinted part of him would never ever let me go into danger. " Right.

Well, let's just hope he doesn't find out. I'll talk to you later Jake, I have to get to class." I told him, and we said our goodbyes. He told me Sarah was hoping to

talk to me about the imprint. I was just hoping she wouldn't bring up another ' sex ed with Sarah' conversation. I chuckled to myself at the memory of my face

bright red as she awkwardly explained things to me, and Jacob walking in during which and almost passing out from embarrassment. Edward, predictably was

waiting for me in the parking lot. Staring. " Shouldn't you be in class?" I asked him, I was running a few minutes late. " Shouldn't you?" he responded with a

cocky grin. My stomach leaped with fear at his now quite close proximity to me. He walked with me into the building. " you weren't at the bonfire." I mentioned,

hoping he would fall into my trap trying to get the whole vampire werewolf thing into conversation. "...my family has a history on the reservation. We don't like

to go there often anymore." he said, obviously unsure of how to not sound sketchy. " Does this have anything to do with the vampire and werewolf treaty?" I

questioned. Subtle. His eyes grew wide. " What?" he asked. "look, I grew up hearing the legends. You have all the character traits, you're sheet white, you never

eat, you're eyes change color, you're always acting like your resisting an urge, the list goes on Edward. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, just someone

who knows all the right things and sees all the smallest details. Before you say anything, I'm not going to tell anyone. I understand what it's like to have a

secret that's not just yours to tell. Nobody would believe me anyways." I exclaimed in a rush, trying to sound as convincing as possible. I was a terrible liar.

"Okay..." he said, shocked. " you're very smart Bella. No human has ever simply ' figured it out' before. We try to be as, well, human as possible." He smiled

brightly. " Right. Well, I guess I'm not your regular human." I said with a chuckle. I was an idiot to think my life could be normal. " There's a lightning storm this

afternoon, my family is going to go play baseball in a field near here. Would you like to come with?" he asked. I ignored every urge in my body telling me to say

no. " Sure."

* * *

" Bella!" a bright, chirpy voice called out. I turned around with a forced smile. " Hey, Alice." I exclaimed. " Edward told me everything." she explained as she

linked her arm through mine. I tried not to go stiff. " So, are you ready to go?" she asked. " Where?" I asked her, we didn't have any classes together after

this..." to play baseball, duh." she squeaked. " Edward said this afternoon..." I told her, she smiled and patted my arm. " he only said that because he knew you

wouldn't want to skip class. The storm will be at it's peak in about ten minutes, so we better hurry up." she said quickly as she pulled me along side her down

the hall. " right. Okay. I'm just going to call my dad..." I told her. It was a lie. I wouldn't call Charlie to tell him I was skipping school. I was calling Jacob to tell

him where I was headed. " What, and tell him you're skipping class? He'll never let you do it." she exclaimed as we exited the building. " you're right. I'm just

going to call my god brother and tell him where we're headed okay? My dad always made me promise to have a backup person who knows where I'm going

when I head off into no where with vampires." I chuckled. She smiled, but it faded almost as soon as it was there. " you don't trust us?" she asked, sadness

evident in her voice. " It's not that, it's just that my dad trusts me to at least to what he advises, even if I'm skipping class I should at least be smart with my

safety. I would just feel bad if I betrayed him." I told her. She seemed to believe me, which was shocking given I was lying left and right. " Okay. We'll wait for

you in the car." she said, before prancing off to the jeep, which was already packed to it's fullest with vampires. We would up needing to take both the truck and

the jeep. I sighed. _What am I getting myself into?_

* * *

" Okay, perfect!" Alice exclaimed as they finished unloading the jeep of it's baseball equipment. I felt an arm go around my shoulder and resisted a shiver. " you

can hang with me." A soft, sweet voice told me. I turned to see a beautiful woman, " I'm Esme. You must be Bella." she said as she pulled me to a conveniently

placed picnic table. They must have gone here often. " Yes, it's nice to meet you." I said as we sat on the table. " I usually sit out. I enjoy watching more than

playing." she explained. I smiled at her as the game began. It was insane to watch. Certainly more entertaining than watching baseball with Charlie on the

couch. I could see that some of them had skills in certain areas and some didn't. It made me wonder how much of the legends really were true. " Do they

have...gifts of some sort?" I asked Esme. She smiled. " You are very intuitive. Edward mentioned that. " They do. Alice can see the future, Jasper controls

emotions, and Edward can read minds." My eyes widened. Wouldn't that mean that Edward knew everything about the wolves? Every trick I'd been playing on

them to day. He would know that I was simply pretending. " Before you get too worried, Edward can't read _you're_ thoughts. He can read everyone's but yours.

That's why he's been so curious about you." She explained. I took a deep breath. Thank goodness. " Oh." I said. She smiled. The game went on, I asked more

questions. I had found out everything the pack would need to know. I felt a twinge of guilt for using them like this, they seemed to be harmless. I felt the aching

throb in my chest start to lessen. Esme must have seen the confusion in my face. " Bella, what's wrong?" she asked. _Oh no._ I knew exactly what had happened.

Paul knew. He knew and he was close by. " Nothing." I assured her. The wind picked up and blew towards us. Everyone immediately froze where they stood.

Esme breathed in, her eyes widening. " Werewolf." she said. I felt a knot in my stomach. I could see Paul's shirtless form appear through the trees. I stood up

immediately and began to walk towards him. " Bella! What are you doing?" Esme exclaimed, drawing the attention of the rest of the group. Edward made a

move to come towards me, but it was too late. I was already in front of Paul, mere inches away. He was angry. I could feel it. " What were you thinking?" he

growled. " Sam asked me.." I began but I was cut off, " And nobody thought to even tell me that my...that you were running off on an expedition with the local

vampires." he remarked. " Bella, get away from him, he's angry and he's dangerous. He's a werewolf Bella." Edward said. I turned towards him with guilt, " I

already know that he's a werewolf, Edward. I'll explain everything in school, but I have to go. I'm sorry." I told him. I felt bad for lying, even if they were

vampires. I couldn't stay to explain it to them. Edward was right, Paul was angry and he was dangerous, and I was the only person who could calm him down.

His imprint had been put in danger, no wonder he was so upset. I knew that I shouldn't have gone with them, I had hurt Paul and that was the last thing I had

wanted to do. I turned back towards him with concern and sadness. I saw something change in his eyes, and within half a second warm, strong arms circled

around my torso, pulling me in. I leaned against his chest and felt him sigh. " I'm sorry." I whispered to him. He nodded. I pulled away. " Bella, it's too

dangerous..." Edward began, I could see the sadness in his eyes. " It's not, really. He wouldn't ever hurt me. Besides, it's not as dangerous as being here with

all of you." I said, before climbing into the truck with Paul. He was driving, I wasn't sure if he would be leaving my house tonight, but I didn't care. I would let

him do whatever he needed to, it was my job as his imprint.

" That was stupid of you to do." He said, he had parked in my driveway. It was already dark outside. " I didn't get hurt." I told him. His hands were still

gripping the steering wheel tightly. " But you could have, Bella. You could have been killed tonight." He said. " But I didn't get killed." he glared. "You can't be so

reckless anymore, Bella. Not with me. I wouldn't be able to handle it if something happened to you. Besides, that leech has some sort of a crush on you..." I

could see that he was holding back tears. I grabbed one of his hands, pulling it from the wheel. I placed it over my heart so that he could feel it beating. " Paul,

I'm okay. You don't have to worry about Edward, you never have to worry about that. It's impossible, remember." He looked me in the eye, before pulling me

into his lap and cradling me in his arms. I leaned in, feeling daring, and pressed my lips to his neck. He shuddered, meeting my eyes. I climbed off of his lap and

out of the truck, walking up the steps to the door. I didn't look to see if he would follow, I knew he would. Charlie was asleep on the couch. I sent Paul up to my

room, out of sight, and woke Charlie. " Bells?" he mumbled. " I was waiting for you...I guess I fell asleep." He said. I smiled. " Well, I'm going to go to bed early.

I had a long day." I told him. " Me too." he grumbled, before we both headed off to our rooms. Paul was sitting on the edge of my bed, looking down at his feet.

I took in his figure, wishing I could trace the lines of his perfect six pack, or run my hands along the veins on his strong arms. He was the most gorgeous thing

I'd ever seen. I knew it was too soon, but that was what the imprint was for wasn't it? Speeding up the process of what would have happened anyways. Emily

had mentioned something about how even if the supernatural didn't exist, we still would have found our ways to each other. The imprint happened for a reason

didn't it? We were perfect for each other in every way, imprint or not. It might have been too soon, but at that point I didn't care. Not even a little. I closed my

door, and walked towards him, placing my hands on his shoulders. He looked up, into my eyes. I leant in and kissed him.

 **Hope you liked it! Sorry for the slow updates!**


	6. War Of Hearts

**I suck, I know. I'm so sorry for the slowest updates ever, I've been super busy. Some confusion was posted about the formatting of my story, sorry, I'm trying to figure it out, think I finally got the right format this time haha. To the guest who goes by the name** **' Debbie Hicks' you need to stop posting these ridiculous " reviews" onto my story. They have nothing to do with me or my story, I have noticed that you post these on many other authors stories as well, and you have been doing it for years! I don't know if you are looking for attention or just a straight up bitch who likes to annoy people, but you need to stop, it's absurdly rude. Also, (sorry guys for my rant, haha), but I changed the rating on my story to M simply for language. I feel that Paul really isn't a soft kind of a guy, so he needs more of an ' umph' in the story, let me know what you think. Okay, now for the end of the longest beginning authors words ever. Who's still even reading this? Hope you like this chapter, please review!**

 _Chapter Six- War Of Hearts_

The rest of the world seemed to disappear when I kissed him.

It was like the moment I first saw him all over again. He was the only thing grounding me to the earth, the only thing that mattered.

In an instant, I knew what I wanted. It wasn't up for debate.

When they say that opposites attract it's absolutely true. He was my opposite, wild and reckless while I was calm and simple, rough and tempered, while I was soft and leveled. It's what made the relationship so perfect. We leveled each other out. I heard someone once say that your opposite is either the best thing for you, or the worst. In this case, he was the best thing for me. He challenged me, made me do the things I would have never done before. I calmed him, I kept him sane, kept him from succumbing to the wolf.

I accepted the imprint, without second thought. I didn't care that it was taking away my choices, because if I had a choice I would choose him, every single time. Not Edward Cullen or Mike Newton, not some random guy, it was Paul that I would choose.

We had kissed, it was a simple, small every day thing for most people, but it changed absolutely everything for us. I could feel what he felt, I could feel the imprint stronger than ever between us. Accepting it had made everything different. I didn't feel the same stabbing pain in my chest when he was called away by the pack early the next morning, in it's place was the dull ache of longing.

I had dreaded the school day ahead of me. I would have to see the Cullens, and explain to them why I knew a werewolf. I wouldn't be telling them about the imprint, or Paul generally. It wasn't their business in any sense.

I pulled up my truck into my usual parking spot, where the Cullens were all gathered, patiently waiting.

" Bella, you're okay." Edward sighed a relief. I narrowed my eyes, " why wouldn't I be okay?" I asked him. " You left with a werewolf yesterday, no explanation of what was going on." He said, acting as if it was obvious why he was worried. " He wouldn't have hurt me." I told them.

" Look, I grew up on the reservation. The tribal protectors are in my family, my god mother's son Jacob is one of them. He changed, and I found out. I'm sorry for not telling you the truth, but it wasn't my place to tell you their secrets." I explained.

" So that's who was there yesterday? Your brother?" Edward asked, a hopefully hint in his voice. " No. No, that was a friend of his." I said, trying not to get into it. I wasn't sure how they would handle it if I told them I was _with_ a werewolf. " He seemed very concerned with your safety, very involved." Edward mentioned. " They all are like that when it comes to vampires. It's just their instinct." I told him, hoping he would simply drop it. He did, thankfully.

" They're very dangerous Bella." Alice said. " No, they aren't." I argued. " Bella..." Edward started to say. " Look, they aren't as dangerous as you are, and you don't tell me to stay away from you." I mentioned. Edward looked to have a loss of words. " I'll see you later." I said, before going to class. " Badass. Hangs with the vamps and the wolves." I heard Emmett say as I walked away.

" Bella, hey." Jessica said as I grabbed my books from my locker. " What was that all about? The Cullens and you.." she started.

Of course Jessica had seen or heard already, she knew everything the second it happened.

" Right, yeah. I was with them yesterday and Paul showed up and I guess he looked dangerous to them or something. They were just worried about me hanging out with him." I told her, only slightly bending the truth." Are you sure they weren't just quizzing you on him because Edward is into you?" she asked. " I guess, maybe. They don't know that Paul and I are...I don't know." I started. What were Paul and I? As soon as I told her, Edward would read her mind and see everything. Which was bad, because I knew he would do something stupid if he knew. She raised an eyebrow. " I didn't tell him that he has competition because Paul is into me too." I told her, hoping that would level things out.

My next class was biology, where I sat next to Edward. Crap.

I sat down, and almost immediately he began to question me, " Did you forget to mention that yesterday's werewolf is interested in you?" He asked. " You know, this whole mind reading thing is kind of unfair." I told him. He smirked cockily." You didn't answer the question." he noted. " It wasn't important." I told him. " I asked you about it?" he said. " I didn't want you to worry more then you already were." I told him. " Because I have nothing to worry about?" He asked, hopefully. I didn't respond, just pretended to pay attention to the teacher.

During lunch Edward approached me once again, of course. " Bella, will you sit with my family today?" he asked. I was of course, urged to say no, but wanted to keep up my charade. " Sure." I said.

Lunch with the Cullens was awkward, given I was the only one eating while they made subtle conversation.

" So Bella, I was wondering.." Edward began to ask, but my phone rang. " Uh, one second, sorry." I said, before answering. " Bella, hey, it's Jacob." I heard. I got up from the table, knowing that they could hear everything. " I'll be right back." I told them, before leaving the lunchroom.

" Hey, sorry. What's up?" I asked. " I need to meet you at the border line." he said. " What?" I asked him. " Look, there's some new vamps in town, we're having a pack meeting." He said. " What?...wait, how does this involve me?" I asked. " Well, first of all you're pack. Second, they want you to bring the Cullens." he said. " What? Why?"I asked, seriously confused.

I heard shuffling. " Because these vamps aren't goody two-shoes dieting sparkle butts like the Cullens, they eat people. Often. And they've decided that they want to start some sort of a feud with us. The Cullens are involved in this, apparently they have some history with these leeches." I heard Paul, who Jacob had handed the phone to say.

 _Well shit._ I thought to myself, before hanging up and going back in to grab the Cullens. " We have to go." I told them. They looked very confused. " Look, some vampires that you all had a run in with before have come here, and they're somewhat pissed off, so, the pack wants to meet with you. Now." I explained.

The Cullens seemed to know exactly who I was talking about. They didn't seem very alarmed, but, of course, they were vampires, they didn't withhold natural human emotions.

We didn't bother taking any of the cars, we were meeting at the border line, which for the supernatural was not very far. I went on Edwards back, which made me quite uncomfortable, and Paul quite pissed. When we arrived at the border line, he had his extremely pissed off look on his face. Edward, meanwhile was smirking gleefully.

I crossed the border line, the imprint in me telling me to go over there and fix it. I was simply planning on standing next to him, but he had other plans. Paul promptly decided to pull me to him and kiss me thoroughly. " You're an idiot." I whispered in his ear as I turned around to face the Cullens. It was Paul's turn to smirk at Edward. Ass.

" You wish to speak with us on a vampire related matter?" Edward asked, his voice laced with anger." Yes. The vampires who are in town have killed on our lands, and yours, all today. We've attempted hunting them, and they seemed to know you?" Sam spoke.

" We have a history with them. We killed one of there friends in somewhat of self defense. I reckon they aren't ecstatic about that." Jasper said." Right, well they need to be stopped, we are prepared to help you hunt them." Sam said.

" These vampires are not easy kill. They're very old, and very skilled. Have you as a pack ever hunted a vampire before?" Jasper asked, clearly taking a lead on the matter." No." Sam replied. " But just because we haven't killed before doesn't mean we aren't good at it. We were made to kill vampires." He explained.

" I understand that. As long as you believe you are prepared." Jasper said. The wolves rolled their eyes. Alice suddenly grew very unsettled, Edward pulled his eyebrows together as he looked at her. He was reading her mind. " Well, they'd better be prepared." Edward said. " They're coming here. Now." Alice said. " Bella you need to go hide, we don't have enough time to get you out of here." Alice said.

I looked around, before seeing some rocks in the distance. I ran towards them, my heart pounding in my chest. I wished that it would be quiet, I knew the vampires could hear it. I wedged my body in between some boulders, I could see the meadow clearly ahead of me. I watched as two vampires arrived to face the group. One had dreadlocks, the other fiery red hair. They both had crimson red eyes.

I could feel the fear bubbling in my stomach. I watched as the remaining human members of the pack phased into wolves. Beginning the war. I couldn't look, it was too nerve wracking.

I stayed wedged in between the rocks with my eyes closed for what seemed like forever, trying not to listen to the sounds of beasts ripping each other apart. I suddenly felt the worst pain I had ever known present itself in my chest. I felt as though my heart was being ripped out. My eyes snapped open, I looked around, trying to find Paul. Something was _wrong_ with Paul. _Very, very wrong._ The one with the dreadlocks was dead. The red head was running away at full speed. I saw Paul's crumpled up silvery wolf form laying on the ground. I let out an ear piercing scream as I ran towards him as fast as I could.

I dropped to my knees at his side. I could see blood, so much blood. I touched his massive shoulder, and he phased back to human form. I hadn't realized I was crying until I felt the drips falling on my legs. " The first time you saw me naked wasn't supposed to be like this." Paul mumbled. I laughed as I wiped my nose and continued to sob. I felt warm arms wrap around my waist, and screamed again as they pulled me away. The rest of the pack had phased back to human and were surrounding Paul, lifting him up.

" Paul! Paul!" I screamed as I was pulled farther and farther away. " Bella, it's okay, he'll be okay." I heard Jacob say. It was him pulling me away. He had scooped me up into his arms and started to run. " Jacob..." I started, but was cut off by more of my own sobs. " Shhh, it's okay Bella. I'm taking you home."

 **Sorry for a short chapter, I figured I owed you at least a short one as soon as I could write it.**


	7. All Through The Night

**Hey guys, so I didn't get a whole lot of reviews last chapter, don't know if it's because I changed the rating or something else...I'm changing the rating back to T again though. I'm sorry I'm taking so long to update this story. I'm so in depth with my other story right now aghh. Anyways, please review!**

 _Chapter 7. All Through The Night_

Jacob carried me back to the little red house sitting silently under the night sky.

The porch light blinked on when we approached it's motion sensors. Sarah had insisted in putting the motion sensors up after Jacob phased for the first time, telling him he would be having many late nights. _He_ insisted they weren't necessary, since he could see much better in the dark nowadays.

Jacob set me down on the ground and looked me in the eye. My face was stained with tears.

"He'll be okay, Bella. It wasn't as bad as it looked. He'll heal." Jacob murmured assuringly, but I could hear the uncertainty in his soft, shaking voice.

I shook my head and went into the door as another tear streamed down my face.

" Get some sleep Bella, stay here. I'll see you in the morning." Jacob called after me, I just nodded. I knew that he had pack duties to attend to, and if he could hear my voice, and hear the quaking sadness and fear within it, he would never be able to leave.

I needed Jacob to leave, because if he didn't then I would never be able to escape.

Some of the pack would be with Paul, the weaker, probably. While Carlisle would be bending the treaty just a little while he tended to Paul's wounds.

The other half of the pack and vampires would be hunting the red head, Victoria was her name. She had escaped at the last minute while they were distracted by Paul.

I turned on the hall light and silently padded into my reserved little room at the very end of the hallway.

I shut the door to my room quietly, and faced the window. That would have to be my exit.

I waited about five minutes, before I knew that Jacob would be far enough away by then that he wouldn't hear me leave.

I climbed through the window carefully, being sure to not get any injuries that would slow me down on my way to Paul.

I was almost positive he would be at Sam and Emily's, so I searched my memory with determination for the way there from Jacobs house. It wasn't that long of a walk, only a mile or so, but I was going to try and get there as fast as I could.

After running for what seemed like forever, I arrived in front of the little wooden cabin tucked away in the middle of the forest. It had started to rain, predictably, but all I could think about was him.

I pounded on the door, trying to hold back sobs. I could feel his pain through the imprint bond. The door swung open to reveal Sam standing in the doorway, looking exhausted. " Bella? I thought Jacob was..." He started. " Jacob couldn't have kept me there if he tried." I told him. He nodded in understanding and moved out of the way to let me inside.

Inside I could hear groans and yelps of pain. I quickly moved in the direction of the sounds, leading me to a cracked open door in the hallway. I pushed inside to reveal Paul, laying on his back on the queen sized bed with blood on his body and bandages around his torso and his arms. Sat next to him was Dr. Cullen, finishing up tying his bandages on.

Carlisle turned to me and stood, " Bella. What are you doing here?" He asked me in a quiet, polite tone. I licked my lips and looked over at Paul, then back up to Carlisle. " I...is he okay?" I asked. " He has three broken ribs, a broken arm, a fractured hip and a slash in his side. We had to re-brake his bones earlier to set them correctly so that they will heal normally. He is healing quickly but with these injuries it will take a bit longer than usual." He told me. " How long?" I asked him. I was so worried about Paul. " Maybe a week or two before he's completely healed, possibly longer if he isn't cared for 24/7." he told me.

" I'll do it." I said. " Bella.." Emily started. " No, Emily, really. I can do it. I'll tell my dad that I'm staying down here for a while. We can just go to Paul's house and I'll take care of him." I told her. " Bella, really, you're so young. And you have school, you can't miss that." She argued. " Emily, he's my imprint. I have to. Besides, I have A+'s in all of my classes and I'm way ahead, I can skip a few days. And fall break starts in only a few days anyway. You shouldn't have to take care of him anyway, it's a 24/7 job, Emily." I argued back. " Okay, Bella. If you can convince your dad, then...Look, if you need any help at all just call me. I'll check in every day."

Emily drove me to get my truck, and then I drove home to pick up my things. I would have to write a note to Charlie. I snuck into the house as quietly as possible, so that I didn't wake him up. I packed a duffle bag full of clothes and toiletries before writing Charlie a note saying that I would be staying on the reservation for fall break and a few days before since I was ahead in all of my classes.

Emily texted me Paul's address, saying that they had moved him there already and set it up with everything he would need. The house was very small, there was three rooms, the main room with a kitchen and a living area, the bedroom with one king sized bed, and the bathroom. There was no decorations or random items anywhere, it was very bare and minimal. Laying in his bed was Paul, Carlisle setting up right beside him.

Carlisle explained to me everything I would need to do to care for Paul, feeding, re-bandaging, eventually stretches, cleaning his wound, and I would have to be bathing him as often as possible.

Even after Carlisle had left, a sleeping Paul was still wrinkling his nose in disgust at the smell. I began to search for cleaning supplies to scrub out the stench before Paul went insane. I heard mumbling coming from his room and went back in immediately. I lent by his side to listen, " smells like leech." he said hazily. "I know, I'm fixing it." I told him softly. " _You_ smell like leech too." he murmured before falling back asleep. " I'll shower." I whispered to him before going back to find the cleaning supplies.

I scrubbed the walls and mopped the floors, wiping off everything that probably smelled like them before hopping in the shower. I came out and got into sweats before grabbing some extra blankets from the closet in the bathroom to put on the couch. I heard Paul's voice when I was taking out the blankets and went into his room again. " Bella." he mumbled. I leant down by his side. " I'm here." I told him, putting my hand on his cheek.

" will you stay here?" he asked me quietly. He wanted me to stay with him, in his bed. At least he was less intimidating now that he couldn't function properly. I didn't know what would have happened if I'd stayed with him and he wasn't injured.

I kissed his cheek and climbed onto the other side of the bed and under the covers next to him. " Are you feeling okay? Do you need more medicine?" I asked. "I'm okay now." he told me. " Bella?" I heard him ask, his voice was quiet and gruff. " Hmm?" I asked him. " I love you." he said. I gasped quietly. My heart skipped a beat. _He loved me. Wait a second, I loved him too._ Was it too early? Maybe, but did I care? No. " I love you too, Paul."

 **Sorry this is so short, I thought I would end it there. I'm working on another chapter, I promise.**


	8. It Comes And Goes In Waves

**Sorry these updates are taking so long. Summer life is crazy. Hope you enjoy this.**

 _Chapter 6: It Comes And Goes In Waves._

 _Charlie Pov:_

Bella hadn't come home last night. I could only assume she was with the Black's. She always was. Sarah had been her mother, maybe not biologically, but _physically and emotionally,_ she had always been there for Bella. She was an amazing person, much better than Bella's mother. I frowned at that, Bella wouldn't be happy with my news.

Bella's genetic mother, after seventeen years, had come back to Forks looking for her daughter. I was happy that Bella wasn't home at the time, because there was a lot of yelling that took place. I wanted to tell Bella myself, anyways, I didn't want her hearing it from some crazy, awful woman who claimed she had finally gotten her life back together.

Reneé had showed up, smiled at me with the same smile I had fallen in love with all those years ago and asked all-too-sweetly where her daughter was. Not even sure how old she would be. I simply said " she's with her mother, her _real_ mother." and slammed the door. She was back two hours later with takeout, a peace offering. I didn't slam the door in her face that time around, I wasn't one to turn down free food.

Bella would hate me if I kept her mother's re-appearance in town from her for any longer, so I figured I should probably go over there and find her. I wasn't so sure she would want to meet her mother anyways, though. Bella didn't talk about her feelings with me, her feelings about her mother in particular. That kind of thing was left for Sarah. She was good at those things.

I arrived on the reservation just outside Billy and Sarah's house. Billy stepped out onto the porch, smiling widely. " Charlie, hey. Come on inside, I've got the game on." He announced cheerfully. I sighed, " Well, Billy I actually em' lookin' for Bells. You seen her 'round here?" I asked, peering inside.

He looked confused. I raised my brow at him. " She didn't tell you?" he asked, curiously. " Now, tell me what, Billy? Is she alright? I swear to god if that awful woman came here and snatched her up..." I started. He waived me off with a hand, " I don't know what your talkin' bout' Charlie, but no woman has been her snatching Bella up...She's over taking care of the boy." he said. " What? Where, what boy?" I asked.

He wrote down the address for me on the little coffee table. " It's pretty nearby. A boy she's close to got in an accident and she wanted to help him out. If you go over there you'll find her just fine." he said. I mischievously looked at him, " what boy? How close?" I asked. He smiled sympathetically. " Charlie, I don't know how you'll feel about this, I know you helped him back when..." he sighed, " It's the Lahote boy she's helping out. He's injured real bad." he said.

I pulled the car softly up outside of the small, all-too familiar cabin in the forest. It was evening now, around six o'clock. I shuffled up to the front porch, knocking on the huge, wooden door three times. The door opened to reveal Bella, looking busy and tired. She was surprised to see me. " Dad?" she asked. Glancing over her shoulder and sighing. " What are you doing here? She said, more quietly than before.

" Well, I've got some news. Something important to tell you. I thought you were at the Black's, but Billy told me you were here, taking care of the Lahote boy. He got in some kind of accident?" I asked.

Bella closed her eyes briefly, sighed, and opened the door wider for me to come inside. The home was the same as before, just emptier, less cluttered, less strange. There was no longer the awful scent of too much alcohol and cigarettes flooding the home, as there was eleven years ago. One of the walls had been busted out and re-designed. It was now a one room home, with the exception of a bathroom and laundry room.

Tucked away in the new space of the room was a king sized bed, framed by two outer walls that looked to be designed to fit the bed, cozily. Atop the bed lay a very large, sleeping man, his lower half was covered in only a thin sheet, a small blanket lay at the end of the bed. His upper half was out of the sheet, his whole torso and one arm were both woven in gauze bandages, his arm in a much too small sling.

I sighed as I took in the man, soundly sleeping before me. He was certainly familiar. I hadn't seen him since he was eight years old. He was much older now, much larger, but seeing him covered in bandages reminded me of how he had looked before, how he had looked after _that night._ I closed my eyes, a lump in my throat from the awful memory.

" Dad?" Bella asked. " Hmm, Sorry, What?" I asked, dazed. " This is Paul. He was in a...motorcycle accident the other day. He's a friend of mine and he didn't really have anyone else to take care of him so..." She began. I smiled, she was taking care of him. Like father like daughter. " You aren't mad, are you?" she asked, hesitantly. " Why would I be mad, Bells? It's a good thing you're doin' here." I told her honestly. She smiled.

Bella had me sit down at the kitchen table while she made dinner. " What was your news, dad?" she asked me, quietly. I sighed. " Honey...this won't be easy to hear, and I don't know what you're going to think of this, but your...your _birth_ mother is in town. She..she came back to find _you."_ I told her.

Bella turned to me with wide, shocked eyes, but as soon as she heard a muffled grumble come from across the room she darted over to Paul's side. " Mwhass' wrong?" I hear him mumble. As I turned to see Bella sitting on the side of the bed next to Paul, stroking his head with tender care. They didn't look like close friends to me, not at all. They looked to be friendly in a non-friend way. But I was not going to make assumptions until I knew for sure, but it damned well seemed to me like I was right when I saw him wrap his non-injured arm around Bella's waist and nuzzle his head into her hip. It made me uncomfortable to witness such an intimate moment, especially since it was my daughter. " Do you need anything? I'm making us dinner." I heard her say as I turned away from the scene.

 _Bella Pov:_

I was surprised to see Charlie turn up that evening, and I was certainly surprised when he seemed completely okay with me spending the night and taking care of Paul. Paul, intimidatingly attractive, Paul, incredibly sexy and all over _her_. And yet, Charlie was utterly fine with me being there, he seemed, _proud_ , even.

Charlie had turned his head and not said a word of complaint when Paul had wrapped his muscular arm around my torso and nuzzled into me. He hadn't said a word when I had helped Paul sit up in bed and Paul had sweetly placed a tender kiss to my shoulder, and another to my cheek. When Paul saw Charlie he blinked in shock and Bella wondered if maybe they had met before.

I climbed off the bed to continue with dinner and Paul grumbled unhappily. I bit my lip, I hated leaving his side too. I finished dinner and gave some to Charlie, who was now sitting on the couch before making my way back over to Paul with both of our bowls. I sat beside him as he leaned into me, shoveling food into his mouth with his non-injured hand.

" Why'd she come back? What does she want, exactly?" I asked Charlie as I carefully laid Paul back down onto the bed. " Stay?" Paul murmured. I smiled and nodded. I continued to sit on the edge of the bed and absently traced Paul's chest with my fingers as I looked over at Charlie. Paul's arm that wasn't in the sling was draped over my thigh, his thumb rubbing the inside subtly. If Charlie noticed he didn't say anything.

" She came back because she wanted to see you...talk to you. She said that she's finally gotten her life together and realized what she'd left behind. I slammed the door in her face when she first came but then she brought me food and..." he started. I chuckled, Charlie of course would not have turned down food.

"Bella...would you want to meet with her? I mean, obviously not right now, while you're taking care of the boy, but maybe sometime over this break? It's spring break now, how long is that?" He asked me. " It's two weeks. Paul should be better soon...he's healing fast." I told him. " Yeah, he's a tough one." Charlie said. I looked at him curiously.

" Do you know Paul from before, dad?" I asked him. It sure seemed like it. " Well...I don't know if you've heard about Paul's past..." he started. He glanced over at Paul, who was sound asleep once again. He needed lots of sleep to heal. He was in and out all day. " Well, anyways, his dad used to beat him and his mom. He was an alcoholic and addicted to all sorts of drugs...he wasn't a good dad to say the least. Well, one night..." he sighed. I had heard from Emily and Jake that Paul had it rough growing up, that he had never been truly loved before, but I had never heard an actual story.

" One night his dad...beat his..he beat Paul's mom to death. Paul was only eight years old. He had called 911 while his dad was hitting her...and when his dad saw him with the phone he just killed her...and then he went after Paul. He was too little back then to fight back..." he looked over at Paul and smiled, chuckling to himself. " He would take that bastard down easily now, I'm sure. Gosh, he sure is huge." Charlie said. " Anyways, I was only a deputy back then, but I was the one on call that night, I was the one sent to his house." he told me

" When I finally got there...I thought it might be too late. His dad had dropped him and ran out back, my partner went around to catch em' and I...well I had to get Paul. His leg was broken, arm shattered, his face and body was so bruised...he was so young..." Charlie sniffled. " That was the hardest night I've ever had as a cop. I went with him to the hospital and visited him in there every day until he was healed. You were only seven, you stayed with the Blacks and I would stay overnight in the hospital with him." Charlie told me. I was surprised, I hadn't known that Charlie had done that for him.

" Eventually Paul went and stayed with his cousins, once he was all healed. That was the last I heard of him till' now." Charlie told me. " Why did you stay with him?" I asked. " Well, Bella...I hadn't been a deputy for a whole long while back then. My job was mostly just the little things, you know? I did patrols around and gave speeding tickets, Bells. I just happened to be the closest one to the reservation when the call came in. I was so scared, I had never done anything like that before and...well, I was still so worried about him. I was a dad to you, you were his age and...well, in my heart I felt awful for him. Just a young kid all alone in the hospital, no family who really cared all that much bout' him." Charlie told me.

I had a lump in my throat. It hurt so bad to hear that, Paul, sweet, gentle hearted Paul was volatile and angry on the outside because he was _damaged._ A tear fell down my face and I stroked my hand over Paul's warm cheek. " Bella...you and Paul, are you sure you are just friends?" He asked me. I sighed as I lay my hand over Paul's heart, looking over at my father. " Honestly, I don't know, dad." I told him.

 **Please review!**


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